青梅竹马

qīng méi zhú mǎ

  • Meaning

    Literal

    "Green plums hobby-horses"

    Usage

    Refers also to the innocent friendship between a young boy and a girl

  • Connotation

    Positive

  • Usage Examples

    她已跟那青梅竹马的男朋友订了婚 | Tā yǐ gēn nà qīngméizhúmǎ de nán péngyǒu dìng le hūn
    She's betrothed to her childhood sweetheart
    [Source]

    我和她是青梅竹马的旧识 | Wǒ hé tā shì qīngméizhúmǎ de jiù shí
    She and I are old childhood sweethearts
    [Source]

  • Equivalents

    English

    Childhood sweethearts

    Chinese

    None

  • Entry Notes

    None

  • Origin

    《长干行》(Cháng Gān Xíng), a poem by the famous Táng-era (唐, 618 - 907) poet 李白 (Lǐ Bái)

  • Story

    This chengyu is from a line in the work listed in the "Origin" section above

  • Citations and Helpful Resources

    • 汉语成语小词典 (hànyǔ chéngyǔ xiǎo cídiǎn)
    • 现代汉语规范词典 (xiàndài hànyǔ guīfàn cídiǎn)
    • 多功能成语词典 (duō gōngnéng chéngyǔ cídiǎn)
    • 汉语大词典 (hànyǔ dà cídiǎn)
    • ABC Chinese-English Comprehensive Dictionary
    • Pleco Basic Chinese-English Dictionary
    • 百度百科[x]
    • 汉语大词典[x]